


Complementary

by madisxn



Category: Les Misérables (2012), Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Artist Grantaire, Enjolras/Grantaire-centric, Grantaire & Éponine Thénardier Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-26 09:35:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6233515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madisxn/pseuds/madisxn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"a skeptic who adheres to a believer is as simple as the law of complementary colors. that which we lack attracts us."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Complementary

**Author's Note:**

> this is trash but maybe you'll like it????????????

The warm morning air blew Grantaire’s dark curls into his eyes. He’d stopped pushing his hair out of his face; it became pointless and tiresome after a while. He could feel the cold metal bars of the fire escape against his lower back where his t shirt couldn’t quite reach the waist of his jeans. He sat against the railing that faced the window, he could see the entirety of his living room and if he shifted his body weight onto his left side he could almost see the entirety of his kitchen as well. A mug was set on the windowsill; he took a sip of the contents. Cold coffee. He must have been out there longer than he thought. Grantaire let out a small sigh before taking a final drag of the cigarette placed so nonchalantly between his long fingers. He ground the small remainder of his smoke into the ashtray beside him as he did every morning. Grantaire glanced once more at his empty living room before wriggling his way back into the apartment and snatching his coffee cup on the way through the window.  
Inside, the space was fairly clean, cleaner than most people would expect by just looking at Grantaire’s appearance. This was not to say that Grantaire wasn’t a clean man, he just had an unkempt, scattered vibe to him. Maybe it was the way his hair fell so naturally around his face, or the tattoos that littered his body, or even the randomness of the few freckles that were scattered on his skin. Either way the apartment was clean. Combeferre (Grantaire’s roommate) could be credited for the tidiness of their living space as well.  
They were an unexpected pairing; Grantaire and Combeferre. Polar opposites in almost all aspects of life. Combeferre was intellectual; he focused on the facts, the numbers and the statistics. He never entered an argument unless he knew he could win. Grantaire on the other hand was artistic, always with more projects on the go than you can count on two hands. His brain worked quicker than his body would allow, this resulted in extensive list making and him often needing to stop what he is doing to get his thoughts down on paper. But what the two shared was heart, absolute dedication to their practice (two very different practices), loyalty, and understanding. The two were kindred spirits. Plain as day.  
“Jesus Christ” Grantaire muttered, taken aback by Courfeyrac’s sudden presence in his kitchen.  
“Good morning to you too” Courfeyrac said opening the cupboard beside the sink and standing on his toes to grab a mug.  
“I thought you and Ferre were at your place last night” Grantaire spoke with an inflection in his tone, as if to phrase this as a question.  
“Yeah we were but Enj was getting too fired up about something or another” Courfeyrac paused before speaking again “he has so many causes I can’t even keep track anymore”  
“Needless to say” Combeferre said entering the kitchen “we couldn’t get any privacy”  
Grantaire nodded, he wasn’t surprised. It was very typical of Enjolras to get lost in yet another cause. He was definitely not selfish and Grantaire knew this, but when he was passionate about something nothing else seemed to matter to him. This included totally cock blocking his two best friends.   
Courfeyrac left for work but not before ruffling Grantaire’s hair a bit and giving him a simple “have a good day R”   
He kissed Combeferre sweetly and whispered in his ear quickly before exiting the apartment.  
Combeferre turned to his roommate, a stern look washed over his face. “Grantaire,” he began “Courf and I have been seriously considering this for a while now, and I really need your honest opinion before I can go through with it”  
Grantaire nodded, he somehow already knew what Combeferre would say next.  
“We want to move in together” Combeferre waited, expecting an answer from his friend. When he didn’t receive this he swallowed hard and went on “I mean this arrangement has been working out well, there’s no doubt about it. And you’ve been so gracious to basically let Courf live here when we aren’t at his place. But last night with Enjolras, it’s just-“  
“yeah man, I totally get it” Grantaire interrupted him “it’s not like you haven’t lived together before and I mean you guys have known each other forever so I think it should be great, congrats”  
“I don’t think you fully understand” Combeferre said, he chose his words carefully “it’s not us we’re concerned about”  
This stung but Grantaire knew he was right. Combeferre was always right. The nights when he was alone in the apartment were the worst for Grantaire. The silence got to him; it devoured him from the inside out. He often spent the alone nights pacing, list making, and sketching anything he could to keep himself busy.   
“Listen Ferre,” Grantaire smiled, he wondered if his roommate could tell it was fake, “I’ll be fine. I’ll be more than fine! I’ll have more space to paint, I won’t have some lame couple dampening my mood, it will be fine.”  
It pained Combeferre to think about his best friend alone every night; he knew it pained Grantaire as well.  
“R you are the best” Combeferre stated simply “I love you man, seriously”  
“This is the kind of shit I won’t miss when your gone” Grantaire joked but the words stung as they left his lips.  
*  
Le Café Social Eatery was located four blocks down from where Grantaire lived. It was a bar. In the days of the prohibition the two story social eatery doubled as a speakeasy. Le Café was a charming and innocent name used to direct law enforcement away from the establishment. Inside Le Café the alcohol was kept underneath the floor boards and all drinks were served in coffee mugs. Although this method of serving alcohol didn’t stick around long, the name did.  
When Grantaire walked into the bar his eyes quickly fixated to one particular blonde head. Enjolras. He was sat alone, staring into his nearly empty glass. Working quickly Grantaire headed to the bar to get a drink for himself, he then proceeded to pull up a chair across from Enjolras. Grantaire’s presence seemed to startle him. Enjolras looked at Grantaire and for a moment their eyes were locked on each other. Grantaire quickly dropped his gaze to his bottle where his fingers had begun to peel away the label. The two sat quietly for a while before Enjolras spoke.  
“Did Ferre talk to you yet?”   
“Yep” Grantaire let out a sigh.  
“Hm” Enjolras hummed.  
“And Courf?” Grantaire looked up from his bottle, surprised to see Enjolras already looking at him.  
“Yep” Enjolras huffed “They decided they want to live in my place”  
“Yours and Courf’s place” Grantaire corrected.  
“Combeferre’s now I guess”  
“Where are you going to go?”  
“I have no clue” Enjolras took the last swig of his drink.  
“My door’s always open” Grantaire offered the ends of his lips pulling up.  
Enjolras laughed, this wasn’t uncommon but it definitely wasn’t common enough considering Enjolras’ bright smile.  
“You and I both know that’s not a good idea” Enjolras said.  
“Yeah” Grantaire spoke focusing on keeping his voice steady. Enjolras was right it was not good for either of them, however for completely different reasons.  
Enjolras was similar to Combeferre however he seemed to have another layer to him. He was analytical, always thinking about what would come next, all the possible outcomes; this was much like Combeferre, and nothing Grantaire wasn’t used to. Enjolras had something else about him that made him more mysterious, he had the ability to persuade all people, he was moody, he was confusing, and he was emotional. Grantaire was intrigued by this level of hazy wonder that Enjolras carried, too intrigued. Much to Grantaire’s frustration the two couldn’t connect; emotionally, mentally, and certainly not physically. They argued constantly, this drove all observers insane, it drove Enjolras up the wall, and it drove Grantaire further into the web Enjolras had caught him in.   
“I should head out” Enjolras said finally. Grantaire simply nodded. It wasn’t long before he finished his own drink and decided to call it a night as well.  
*  
Three weeks later Grantaire sat on the wood floor of his living room.  
“That’s the last of the boxes” Combeferre cheered entering the apartment once more. He joined Grantaire on the floor.  
“I guess I hadn’t realized the couches belonged to you” a sad smile grew on Grantaire’s face as he looked at his empty living room.  
“I’m going to miss you R” Combeferre said placing a hand on Grantaire’s shoulder. Grantaire quickly wiped a tear from his cheek, he hoped Combeferre didn’t notice. He did. “Hey, it’s okay. I can stay here one more night if you want”  
“No, no. Don’t be crazy Ferre!” Grantaire exclaimed “Enjoy your first night alone with Courfeyrac, I’m so happy for you guys”  
“Everyone’s going to the bar later for a post-moving celebration. You coming?” Combeferre asked his friend.  
“Yeah, I’ll be there” Grantaire pondered whether to ask the question that had been burning in his mind “Did Enjolras ever find a place to live?” he blurted out.  
“Uh yeah, he said he found somewhere. He didn’t give too much detail” Combeferre replied “How’s that going?”  
“How’s what going?”  
“You and Enjolras”  
“There is no me and Enjolras”  
“There could be”  
“No” Grantaire stated, lying down on his back. “Now get out of here and enjoy your new place. I’ll see you tonight”  
“Alright, I’ll see you” Combeferre got up and walked towards the door.  
“Wait!” Grantaire shot up, he felt like rocks had been placed on his chest.  
“Hm?” Combeferre puzzled.  
“I love you too, man”  
Combeferre smiled his huge dashing smile that made Courfeyrac fall in love with him in the first place, and with that he left his old home to arrive at a new one.  
*  
Grantaire arrived at Le Café that night and was greeted by the beautiful and familiar faces of his friends. He had painted all of those faces countless times, all but one. Grantaire had tried to paint Enjolras on several occasions but his brush just couldn’t do Enjolras justice. This face, of all the faces in the world, brought Grantaire the most frustration and yet the most joy.  
“R, you beautiful man! Take off your coat we’ve got a seat for you my love” Cosette called to him from the table near a window. Grantaire couldn’t help but smile, he adored Cosette. How could anyone not?  
“My lady, you look just darling tonight” Grantaire chimed to her taking a seat at the table beside his friend Jehan “When do plan on leaving Marius and running away with me?”  
“Oh!” Cosette exclaimed, dramatically tossing her hand on her forehead “I can only dream of the day Grantaire!”  
“Good because I’m awfully lonely without you Cosette” Grantaire said taking Cosette’s hand and giving a gentle kiss.  
“Are you trying to steal my wife from me again, R?” Marius asked joining the group and giving Cosette a quick peck on the forehead as he did so.  
“All in due time Marius” Grantaire chuckled “right then, where does one get a beer around here?”  
“I’m heading up to the bar, I can grab you one” Eponine stated standing up “the usual?”  
Grantaire nodded “Eponine you are a saint” he called after her; she raised her hand and waved him off as she walked away.  
Grantaire’s eyes scanned the long table where all his friends were seated. Combeferre and Courfeyrac were at the end of the table, their eyes were locked on each other, Grantaire could tell they couldn’t wait to get home and have the apartment all to themselves. Next was Marius and Cosette, hand in hand Cosette shared stories about her day at work, she was a teacher at a primary school nearby Marius had a look of genuine interest in what she was saying as if he was holding onto every word coming from her lips. Across from them sat Joly, Bossuet, and Musichetta; they were and interesting trio, and always the life of the party. Next to them was Eponine’s empty chair, she had quite a hard time getting over her relationship with Marius after they mutually decided to break it off, some people just aren’t meant for each other. Grantaire knew firsthand how this felt. Eponine and Grantaire spent mass amounts of time together after the breakup, a lot of nights spent smoking weed and watching musical movies in her apartment (when Gavroche was with Azelma of coarse). Beside Eponine’s place at the table was Enjolras, his curls hung near to his shoulders, Grantaire imagined the way the ends of his blonde trestles must tickle against his neck. Enjolras was both warm and cold; he smiled often but never long enough, when he laughed he covered his hand over his mouth, and when he made eye contact with someone he always dropped his eyes quickly. Across from Enjolras was Feuilly, who newly moved in with Eponine and Jehan due to his old building being condemned. Feuilly adored the old building, including the ceiling leaks, rats, and newly discovered drug packaging business being run by the building’s super in the basement. Jehan and Feuilly were discussing the importance of house cats in today’s modern society; the two of them had such a desire to own a kitten however Eponine would not allow it. She knew that she would end up cleaning the litter box, this did not appeal to her. Bahorel sat amongst his friends however he lived alone. He claimed it was a choice, Grantaire believed him because he enjoyed being alone sometimes. Some of the other friends did not believe him because they enjoyed being together and why would you choose to be alone. Grantaire often wondered this too.  
“Here you are sir” Eponine said placing Grantaire’s beer in front of him and kissing him on the top of the head before going to sit down. Eponine’s favourite thing to do was kiss Grantaire, for no reason, all the time, without shame. Grantaire loved this.  
“Ponine I should tell you,” Cosette said across the table, this caught everyone’s attention. Most things Cosette said caught everyone’s attention. “Something interesting happened at school today with Gav”  
“Oh god, what’d he do” Eponine spoke reluctantly and listening attentively.   
“I mean I really shouldn’t say this but there’s this little shit in my class, I can’t stand him” Cosette turned away from Marius uncrossing her legs in the process. This was a telltale sign that Cosette meant business. “So this dick is all ‘blahhh, I’m fucking eight and I’m homophobic’ and Gav is all ‘ugh I’m eight and I’m awesome and literally everyone my sister knows is gay’ side note: guys has anyone else noticed this. So anyways, Gav and this kid get into a verbal fight which I allowed to go on for several minutes because I’m a strong believer in letting the children work out their differences in a civil manner. And then I was forced to be an actual teacher and send Gavroche to the principal’s office when he used the words, and I quote: ‘you bitch-ass motherfucking homophobic ass wipe’”  
Enjolras choked on his drink and had to spit what was in his mouth back into the glass. Grantaire laughed more at this than at Cosette’s story.  
“I taught him everything he knows” Eponine said through her laughter.  
In groups everyone trickled out of the bar. First were Marius and Cosette, they always left first and were always ridiculed because of it. Next was Combeferre and Courfeyrac, Grantaire was genuinely surprised at how late they stayed out based on the amount of eye fucking that was going on between the two of them. Bahorel left after Feuilly and Jehan. Next was Enjolras, and shortly after him Joly, Bossuet, and Musichetta exited the bar. Finally it was just Eponine and Grantaire, the two of them hand-in-hand walked back to Grantaire’s apartment. Grantaire didn’t need to ask Eponine to hang out with him; she just knew he didn’t want to be alone that night.   
*  
Back in the warmth and emptiness of Grantaire’s apartment the two of them sat on the living room floor, a bong sat between them. Grantaire had never smoked in the apartment before because he knew Combeferre hated it. Eponine used her fingernails and pried a few nuggets of weed from a dime bad she’s pulled from her pocket. She placed them in the bowl piece of the bong and handed Grantaire the lighter.  
“Have at er” she said, a grin stretching across her face.   
Grantaire’s face was lit up in the darkness by the flame coming from the lighter. As he connected the flame to the plant he inhaled aggressively and watched with satisfaction as the contents of the bowl turned from green to orange to black in a matter of seconds. He continued his inhale until the entire bowl was blackened and ashy. His throat burned and his lungs tingled, it felt great. As he exhaled he parted his lips slightly and momentarily lost sight of Eponine amongst the clouds of smoke that escaped him. He finished with a few coughs and finally a sigh of satisfaction before handing Eponine the lighter.  
“Damn” she said taking the lighter “is something troubling you”  
“No” he said and coughed once more “why do you ask?”  
“Last time you took an entire bowl in one hit was when Enjolras had that fling with the guy from school” Eponine joked before beginning the process of filling the bowl once more.  
“I could care less about Enjolras” Grantaire snarled, he waited for Eponine to finish her hit. She turned the bong to him and he finished the bowl.  
“Reeeally?” she replied finally.  
“Yep”  
“Well then I guess I can tell you now”  
“Tell me what?” Grantaire stopped what he was doing and put down the lighter.  
Eponine let out a long sigh “We fucked”  
“What, when!?” Grantaire exclaimed, he caught himself before sounding too obsessed “Eponine what happened?”  
“Relax okay; it was like three years ago. We were hardly friends yet. I had just broken up with Marius so it was right around the time that you became friends with the rest of us and not just Ferre. Enjolras was figuring some shit out, I think he had a thing for some guy but he hadn’t fully understood the concept of being bi yet so he was super confused and I was just in a really bad place. We were the last two people at Le Café one night and we were both totally wasted. One thing led to another and we were back at my place, but by the time I woke up the next morning he was gone and we’ve never so much as spoken about it since, no one knows”  
“Ponine, why are you telling me this” Grantaire asked in defeat.  
“To prove that you aren’t over Enjolras” she stated “where is he even living now anyways?”  
Grantaire shrugged his shoulders and took another hit from the bong “How was he?”  
“What?”  
“Enjolras, was he any good?” Grantaire persisted.  
“Oh” Eponine laughed and thought for a little while “let’s put it this way, he was one of the one night stands I’d rather remember than forget”  
Grantaire laughed and lied back on the floor, he was starting to trip. He could hear the water bubbling in the bong which meant Eponine was smoking more. Grantaire raised his hand up and drew a smiley face in the air with his finger, he chuckled to himself and then shut his eyes. Under his eyelids everything was dark but still Grantaire saw a face, this one wasn’t smiling; this one was beautifully painted with golden acrylics, this one had a slight smirk, this one had dimples and freckles, this one had blue eyes that seemed to scream at Grantaire, this one was the face of a skillfully crafted Enjolras. Grantaire saw it now so clearly, he saw how he would paint the face that had been daunting him for three years now. He stood up quickly and ran into his bedroom.  
“R, careful! What are you doing?” Eponine called after him.  
Grantaire came running out of his room struggling to carry his art easel; he set it up in the living room near the window that led him out to the fire escape each morning. He ran back into his room and snatched up every colour that reminded him of enjolras, he returned to the living room and began to swirl his brush in colours of gold and peach and beige.  
“Shit!” Grantaire exclaimed when he realized his mistake.  
“What’s wrong” Eponine asked now standing over her friend’s shoulder.  
“In my room Ponine! Get me the biggest canvas you can find, they’re in my closet!”  
Eponine took off running and tripping and stumbling around Grantaire’s apartment, after what seemed like hours she was in his closet fumbling around with canvases of different sizes. Working as quickly as her body would let her she grabbed the biggest canvas; it must have been the height of Gavroche. She carried it with a great deal of struggle and presented it to Grantaire who was standing with his eyes shut and his paint brush tapping against his forehead. Eponine wondered if he realized how much paint he had flung in his hair by doing this.  
“Here” she said catching his attention.  
“Thank you” he grunted while adjusting his easel to accommodate the large canvas.  
Grantaire didn’t move for the next four hours, he stood in front of his easel and waited. He waited for Enjolras to appear in his mind the way he saw him before. The paint in his hair had now hardened and turned to flakes of blonde in his naturally dark hair. Eponine sat on the counter and watched Grantaire from the kitchen for the first half hour, the next half hour was spent having a conversation with herself in which she discussed the struggles of being a single woman with such a young brother, the next hour was spent raiding Grantaire’s kitchen and eating the majority of his food, the next half hour was spent sobering up, and after trying her hardest to get Grantaire to go to bed and telling him to try and paint again in the morning Eponine herself needed some sleep so in the end she called herself a cab but not before kissing Grantaire goodbye.  
“Damn it!” Grantaire yelled nearing the end of the fourth hour of waiting “damn it Enjolras!”  
Grantaire threw his paintbrushes across his living room; they made a loud clammer as they all fell to the ground at different times and rolled around in all directions. He sunk to the ground and held his knees he wasn’t sure if he was actually screaming or if it was just his imagination. When he shut his eyes he didn’t see Enjolras, he didn’t see anything but darkness. He let himself get submerged in the darkness and the constant sounds of shrieking he was hearing. He sunk further and further into the darkness until he was asleep.  
*  
The next morning Grantaire woke up submerged in heat, he was very confused. He opened his eyes and quickly shut them again; the light from the fire escape window was creating a patch of sun around him on the floor. He felt like a cat lazing around the house on a Sunday afternoon. He stretched his body, his arms extended over his head and his toes curled on his feet, he let out a small noise of satisfaction. He tried once more to open his eyes, succeeding in doing so he rolled onto his stomach and pressed himself off the ground. The state of his apartment told a story of the events that had taken place the night before. The bong sitting in the middle of the living room, the ruffled up carpet where he lied down and saw the beautiful face, the canvas in front of him, and finally the paintbrushes scattered about his kitchen. Combeferre would not allow any of this, if he had seen the state of the apartment or of Grantaire for that matter he would most likely have an aneurism.   
“Later.” Grantaire thought looking at the mess of his apartment before making himself his morning coffee and grabbing his cigarettes from the counter. He walked to the living room to snatch the lighter from the floor, then walking past his easel he shimmied out the window and perched himself on the fire escape as he did every morning.  
Resting a cigarette between his lips Grantaire lifted the lighter and applied pressure to the top with his thumb. In just a moment Grantaire watched as the lighter seemed to levitate from his fingers and fall through the metal bars that the entirety of the fire escape was made of.  
“Damn it” Grantaire huffed, he lifted himself onto his knees and began the process of going inside to look for another lighter. He froze when he heard an eerily familiar voice.  
“I have one” the voice said. Grantaire looked down and saw him in all his early morning beauty.  
“Enjolras?” he asked, this was a stupid question. Of course it was Enjolras; Grantaire would recognize his voice anywhere, not to mention his blonde curls.   
“Here” Enjolras said holding up a red lighter. Grantaire snaked his way down the angled ladder that lead one fire escape platform to the next. He was face-to-face with Enjolras within seconds. The wind blew Grantaire’s hair into his eyes, Enjolras had his tied back into a messy pony tail; Grantaire loved when he did that with his hair.  
Enjolras connected the flame of the lighter to the cigarette still gracefully resting between Grantaire’s lips. When Enjolras pulled the lighter away his thumb grazed the side of Grantaire’s jaw, they both noticed, they both felt it, neither one of them said a thing.   
“You smoke?” Grantaire broke the silence after his first drag of the cigarette.   
“Rarely” Enjolras replied, still standing face to face with Grantaire.  
“What’s the occasion?” Grantaire continued to make conversation; this was one this he was great at.  
“Moving, and school among other things” Enjolras took a drag from his own cigarette and made full eye contact with Grantaire whilst parting his lips and letting smoke escape him.  
“Why didn’t you tell me you were moving in right below me?” Grantaire seemed to be in a quizzical mood that morning.  
Enjolras shrugged “I didn’t realize it was directly underneath you”  
“Still, you are moving into my building and you don’t so much as call to let me know. For god sakes Enj we were sitting right across from each other at the bar last night, you never thought about saying ‘Hey R, I’m moving into your building, just thought I’d let ya know before I practically give you a heart attack on the fire escape tomorrow’” Grantaire went on a tangent.  
“Listen Grantaire” Enjolras was one of the only people to solely call him by his full name, “I’m not too pleased about the current situation, quite frankly this building scares this shit out of me but it’s all I could afford on such short notice. My dream mornings don’t exactly consist of having a lighter dropped on my head and then getting yelled at by you. I’m only here for this semester at most and then I’ll be gone. You can have your building back.”  
“So now you are too good for my building. This is where I live Enjolras, my home. Do you think about the words coming out of your mouth or do you just speak and hope people tolerate you enough to pretend they aren’t offended.”  
“can you fucking shut up!” a man exclaimed from two floors up as he slammed his window shut  
Grantaire and Enjolras both directed their attention back to each other.  
“I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t have moved in with me when I offered. You moved directly below me, it seems stupid that we are living in the same building, with the same financial standings, and we both have spare rooms” Grantaire continued.  
“Because Grantaire, this is what I would be signing to if I moved in” Enjolras gestured throwing his arms up “fighting all the time about everything. Even in our own home. That’s not the life I want to live. Can we just not do this anymore, at least not here?”  
Grantaire nodded and put out his cigarette in Enjolras’ ashtray. Enjolras took one last drag before doing the same thing.  
“It’s a deal” Grantaire said extending his hand out to Enjolras.   
“What?” Enjolras spoke through clouds of smoke.  
“No fighting in our building” Grantaire explained.  
The two shook on their newly found agreement.   
Both hands lingered for a long time. They stood, their hands holding each other, eyes locked. This was rare; Enjolras had not yet dropped his gaze and Grantaire hoped he never would. A curl had managed to break free from the restraints of the hair tie in Enjolras’ thick maine. Grantaire liked the way it danced around his face in the wind. Enjolras noticed the freckles on Grantaire’s high cheekbones; they were the kinds of freckles that were so dainty that it took a long time of studying a person before you could see them. Enjolras had been studying Grantaire longer than he’d studied any book in his life.   
Eventually the two broke apart and Grantaire returned to the safety of his apartment. He didn’t even drink his coffee that morning, he didn’t need to.  
*  
“Attention everyone” Marius spoke standing on the table in Grantaire’s apartment. Everyone was gathered at in living room around the new couch he had finally purchased after a month of living on his own and without basic comfort. The party being thrown was known as ‘the couch party’ but quite frankly it was a reason for Grantaire to not be alone and a reason for everyone else to get drunk.  
“Marius get down” Enjolras hit Marius’ feet with a pillow Cosette had given Grantaire “You’re going to fall”  
“I will if you do that” Marius spoke his beer in hand. He hit the neck of the bottle with a fork that was in Grantaire’s sink in an attempt to get everyone’s attention “I have a very important announcement to make!”  
“Get on with it then, Marius. We don’t have time for your shenanigans tonight” Grantaire called flopping back onto his couch. Enjolras laughed.  
“Well fine then” Marius said stepping down from the table and nearly spilling his beer “I guess you don’t want to hear the super exciting news. But don’t come freaking out to me in nine months when you find a small child in my home”   
“Wait are you saying-’’ Courfeyrac was cut off  
“I’m pregnant!” Cosette exclaimed beaming and exuberating pure joy.   
Eponine shrieked and tackled Cosette in a hug, they were soon joined by Jehan who nearly tripped over everyone whilst running across the living room to reach the two girls. Musichetta joined as quickly as she could as well.  
Enjolras looked shocked at first but his face soon softened and he smiled as he hugged Marius. Grantaire, Combeferre and Courfeyrac soon joined this hug as well. Everyone else moved around the kitchen hugging one another. Grantaire and Enjolras found themselves thrown together in a hug, Enjolras’ arms wrapped tightly around Grantaire’s lower back, Grantaire’s arms snaked around the latter’s neck and found their way into his hair. Grantaire’s fingers could stay intertwined with Enjolras’ curls forever, his touch sent shivers down Enjolras’ spine. Reluctantly the two broke apart and moved to new people to exchange hugs with.   
Grantaire watched as Eponine hugged Marius. She cupped his face in her hands when they pulled away, they were both beaming. They spoke a few quiet words to each before Marius nodded and Eponine moved to hugging Enjolras. Their hug was quick but genuine, not a hint of tension was felt between Eponine and any one she knew. This was something Grantaire admired about her.  
“Cosette” Grantaire stated when the two met face-to-face.  
“Grantaire” Cosette mimicked his tone.  
“I’m very upset with you, I thought you were leaving this man” Grantaire nodded his head to Marius.  
“R I have to tell you something” Cosette looked around nervously before leaning towards him and whispering loud enough for everyone to hear “it’s yours”  
“I won’t wait around for you Cosette” Grantaire continued the act that had been going on for two years “When the child comes I expect us to be married and living a full domestic life in suburbia. With a swing-set and pool in the backyard”  
“Of course my love” Cosette smiled opening her arms for a hug.  
“Congratulations” Grantaire whispered sincerely into her hair “you’ll be an amazing mum”  
When the two pulled away Cosette had tears streaming out of her eyes like water out of a faucet.   
“Damn it Grantaire look what you’ve done now” Feuilly joked.  
Marius held Cosette close for the rest of the night, the two were inseparable.   
Everyone left fairly late that night until it was just Grantaire and Enjolras left in Grantaire’s apartment. The two of them without a word darted around the apartment and cleaned up empty bottles and packaging of different sorts until there was nothing left to clean up.  
“Hey, thanks for staying and helping me clean up, our friends are terribly mess-’’   
Grantaire was cut off by Enjolras’ lips suddenly pressed against his own. Grantaire was shocked and dropped the garbage bag containing mostly beer bottles; it hit the ground with a loud crash. Soon Grantaire found himself leaning into Enjolras, both of them hungry for more. Their arms found their way around each other and their bodies mimicked the way they were in their embrace earlier in the night. Enjolras’ hands slowly moving down Grantaire’s back and the latter’s fingers digging and pulling deeper into Enjolras’ curls. The kiss was passionate and hungry yet sweet and tender. They continued to suck and pull on each other lips gently until Grantaire had to pull away for air. After a few seconds Enjolras went back in for more.  
“Wait” Grantaire stopped him out of breath not only from the kiss itself but from the shock of the entire situation.  
“What” Enjolras slurred hungry for more of Grantaire.  
“Enj you’re drunk”  
“And?” Grantaire could feel Enjolras’ words on his lips  
“And it’s against my better judgement”  
“Grantaire, I’m saying yes” Enjolras stumbled trying to get closer to him.  
“I can’t Enjolras. I want to so bad-“  
“Then c’mon”  
“I want to so bad” Grantaire continued “and I’ve wanted to since we met. But I can’t, not like this”  
Enjolras took a step away from Grantaire and looked him up and down. Both of their clothing had been dishevelled from the pulling and tugging that took place just moments before. Enjolras smiled a small and hardly noticeable smile. This drove Grantaire crazy.  
“I understand” Enjolras said finally “you’re a good guy Grantaire”  
“Thanks Enj” Grantaire spoke leading Enjolras towards the fire escape “I think it’s time for you to go”  
“You’re probably right. I’m sorry, I’m so stupid. It’s just you’re you and you’re amazing and we hugged and I wanted to feel that again and you were there and I-“ Enjolras rambled on whilst climbing out of the window.  
“Shh, you’re not stupid Enjolras. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that. Not even me.” Grantaire spoke caressing Enjolras’ hair once more.  
“Thank you” Enjolras whispered before disappearing into the darkness.   
Grantaire waited and listened at the sounds Enjolras was making in the process of climbing down the fire escape. He waited for a few moments until he heard Enjolras’ window shut finally. He took a step back after shutting his own window and let out a long sigh. Although Grantaire hated that he was more sober than Enjolras was, he knew he’d done the right thing. To Grantaire, Enjolras was more than a one night stand. He shuddered at the idea of waking up the next day and Enjolras being gone. He wanted more than to be civil to each other at group gatherings, he wanted a life together, the kind of life he joked about with Cosette. A drunken one night stand was not the way to start a life, at least not the kind of life Grantaire wanted. He hated the fact that he was right but felt good in his decision.  
He took off his clothes one piece at a time and lied down in his bed. He dozed off to a state of peace amidst his blankets and pillows, until a thought came to him. Grantaire shot upright and nearly fell out of bed, he stumbled across the room in the dark and snatched a pen and note pad from his desk. He waited for a moment until his eyes adjusted to the darkness before making a list:  
-Enjolras  
-Enjolras  
-Enjolras  
-Enjolras  
-What if all he wants is a one night stand?  
-what if I turned away the only chance I’ll ever get to feel him against me?  
-Enjolras  
-Enjolras  
-Enjolras  
-  
*  
If there was one thing Enjolras was great at, it was avoiding personal confrontation. He could argue with a complete stranger for hours on end about any political issue that has ever existed, past or present. The second the conflict turned towards a personal issue (specifically regarding his tendency to attempt drunken one-night-stands with his friends) Enjolras would do anything in his power avoid the situation. Grantaire discovered this quickly.   
For days after Grantaire’s party Enjolras avoided him at all costs, it wasn’t until the two found themselves out for a smoke on the fire escape at the same time one morning that they spoke again.  
“Hey” Grantaire said, making his way down the ladder to reach Enjolras. Enjolras simply nodded his head and continued to look over the railing at the city around him. “What’s the occasion this time?”  
“I needed to clear my head” he chose his words carefully between drags “what about you?”  
“I don’t need an occasion” Grantaire said moving beside Enjolras and leaning his forearms against the railing of the fire escape “I smoke too often to try and make excuses for myself”  
“I’m not making excuses” Enjolras snapped turning towards Grantaire.  
“I never said you were” Grantaire replied facing the boy he had kissed less than a week before. Enjolras let out a long pouting sigh. “Can we talk about the other night?”  
“What’s there to talk about?” Enjolras questioned shaking his head.  
“Uhm a lot, actually” Grantaire let out another puff of smoke.  
“Grantaire, can we just leave it” Enjolras nearly begged between drags “please?”  
“Yep” Grantaire said, although it sounded more like a sigh. Enjolras noticed his clear state of disappointment.  
“Listen, I’m sorry Grantaire but I’m just not looking for anything right now” Enjolras spoke “I was drunk and I-“  
“Not looking for anything?” Grantaire interrupted him “What’s that supposed to mean?”  
“Well it’s just… what you said that night about wanting to since we met, and how you couldn’t let it happen like that” Enjolras explained. Grantaire didn’t know what to say, he’d hoped Enjolras hadn’t remembered the details.  
“You know what, forget I even brought it up” Grantaire huffed while nearly slamming his cigarette into Enjolras’ ashtray. He started to make his way back up the ladder when he felt a hand grab his bicep. He turned to see Enjolras’ upset face looking up at him.  
“Hey” he said, stopping Grantaire “No fighting in our building, remember?”  
Grantaire’s face softened into a smile, Enjolras’ did the same.  
*  
The peaceful cups of coffee on the fire escaped continued habitually for Grantaire, his cigarettes and coffee went together beautifully. Enjolras joined him quite often and the two would chat about school, and work, and their friends while Enjolras leaned against the railings and Grantaire perched himself on the ladder that connected their two apartments. This became Grantaire’s favourite part of the day.  
Grantaire was often frustrated with school and the restrictions his art class had put on his works. Grantaire was a genius in his own rights, not many people could see this. He grew tired of the constant explanations he needed to provide his professors on his creations. Why he chose acrylics and not watercolour, what each brushstroke represented, which brand of brush he chose and why, lengthy essays describing how a piece of art made him feel and how it connected to modern society. Grantaire realised the importance of all this however he didn’t enjoy doing these tedious assignments. He preferred to paint for the hell of it, and he was a strong believer that true art couldn’t be explained. Grantaire expressed his feelings to Enjolras, and he understood these frustrations.  
Enjolras experienced difficulty with getting people to listen to what he had to say. This was the main reason he enjoyed being on the warmth of the fire escape with Grantaire, there was always someone out there to listen to him. Enjolras had so many ideas for change, he wanted to watch the world become a better place, he wanted to be the leader of the charge. Grantaire believed he could do it; this was one of the few things Grantaire believed in. The only thing Enjolras struggled with was the appeal, he knew exactly what to say and when to say it but he just didn’t know how to get people to listen. Grantaire assured him that when it’s important enough the whole world will be with Enjolras, or at least all of his friends. This was something Enjolras really needed to hear.  
A sunny afternoon in mid-September had drawn Grantaire out of his apartment and onto the fire escape. He loved the way his dark hair attracted the sun and warmed his head. Grantaire had been working on a paper all day and couldn’t bring himself to re-read the bullshit filled essay he’d written about the philosophical meaning of the word creation. It was too much to handle.   
With his typed and printed 10 point font essay wedged between his lips Grantaire used both hands to climb down the ladder to Enjolras’ platform. He approached Enjolras’ window and saw a blonde head resting face-down on the kitchen table. A plastic cup from a take away restaurant sat in front of him on the table. A textbook was being used as a pillow under the mound of blonde curls, green highlighter in hand Enjolras took the form of an average student.  
Grantaire removed the papers from his mouth with one hand and tapped on the glass window with the other. Enjolras’ head lifted slowly with confusion. He directed his attention to Grantaire waiting outside his window like a puppy waiting to be chosen at a pet store. Enjolras pushed himself out from the table and opened the window as wide as it would go.  
“Good morning, sleeping beauty” Grantaire smiled “Can I interest you in a break from economics and politics to aid me in my quest of not sounding like a pretentious snob every time I write about art”  
“On one condition” Enjolras smiled.  
“Anything” Grantaire, although he wouldn’t like to admit it, was genuine when he spoke these words. Had Enjolras asked him to paint his apartment, leap out of an airplane, or do his laundry Grantaire would have jumped at the opportunity if it meant spending time with him.  
“Coffee and sunshine, please” Enjolras squinted when he looked out the window past Grantaire.  
“That’s two conditions” Grantaire teased, and placed his essay on Enjolras’ window sill “come outside, I’ll get us coffee”  
When Grantaire returned outside he was pleased at the sight of Enjolras lying on his back, this time with a real pillow from his apartment supporting his head. He had his hand draped across his eyes to block the sun and Grantaire’s essay tucked underneath his back to keep it from blowing about in the afternoon gusts.  
Grantaire carried the first cup of coffee down the ladder and brought it to Enjolras, it was light yellow with a blue handle. He then retreated to his own platform to drink his own coffee, contained in a forest green mug with a white heart at the bottom that was visible when the cup was empty.  
“Why don’t you come sit down here?” Enjolras asked sitting up “look, there’s plenty of room”  
Grantaire gladly accepted his neighbour’s invitation and made his way down the ladder once more.   
“Right then, let’s see what we’ve got here” Enjolras said holding up the first page of Grantaire’s paper and thoroughly reading it. Grantaire, at this moment, looked at Enjolras and noticed the reading glasses he had placed on his face. Grantaire like them a lot. “This is really good Grantaire. It sounds genuine, like you really seem to have a passion for creativity”  
“I don’t find myself having a passion for too much in this life” Grantaire said smiling “Especially not essays”  
Enjolras was in awe of Grantaire’s ability to use words and literature to portray such a clear and understandable meaning in his essay. He had not expected this from such a character. “It’s great” Enjolras reassured him.  
After a while Grantaire grew bored of watching Enjolras’ red pen scribble corrections and additions onto his essay. He maneuvered his way up the ladder and into his apartment, he returned with a water colour palette, a small canvas, and his desktop easel. He made a second trip and this time returned with paint brushes, water, and a roll of paper towel.  
“I’m just going to paint if you don’t mind” Grantaire stated, almost asking permission.  
“Yeah sure” Enjolras mumbled, he was ridiculously focused on Grantaire’s writing. This was something Grantaire found strange.   
Grantaire created strokes of blues and yellows as he produced an image of Enjolras’ coffee cup on his canvas, he highlighted the blue handle with a few spots coated with a light orange wash. He then did the same thing to the yellow, this time with purple instead of orange. This brought the colour forward with more intensity and very subtly played tricks of the viewer’s eyes. It is known as the law of complimentary colours: colours parallel to each other on the colour wheel always produce a more vibrant glow when paired together. The opposites of their colours bring out the best qualities in each other. While he painted Grantaire thought about himself and Enjolras, he supposed that maybe the law of complimentary colours could apply to them somehow.  
Enjolras would often catch glimpses of Grantaire while he was too focused on his painting to realise. Enjolras smirked at the way Grantaire’s tongue would stick out when he was painting very tedious and small strokes, the former guessed that it must help him focus. Enjolras couldn’t, however, focus with Grantaire attracting the sun effortlessly right in front of him. He noticed Grantaire’s tattoos peeking through the sleeves of his grey t shirt; he’d never seen them at this angle. He longed to see them up close, in all their glory. Enjolras quickly refrained from this though as Grantaire stirred slightly. Worried Grantaire may notice his constant staring; Enjolras directed his attention back to the essay he’d been tasked with editing.   
The sun began to sink but the two boys didn’t waver from there spots. Grantaire adding the finishing touches to his painting and Enjolras sifting through the formers Citation pages, this was very tedious work. The two hadn’t spoken all afternoon, it was calming and pleasant. Enjolras broke the silence finally.  
“Done.” he cheered placing the cap on his red pen and waving the completed eleven page essay covered in Enjolras’ hand writing in triumph.  
“Me too” Enjolras turned his miniature easel around so it faced Enjolras.  
“Beautiful!” Enjolras marvelled at the art work Grantaire had created in just one afternoon “I would hang it in an art gallery or better yet in my living room”  
“You should take it” Grantaire offered “I never end up hanging my painting anyway, I always found it conceited”  
“Are you sure?” Enjolras asked taking the art work from Grantaire.  
“Yeah, please” He replied, “Put it to use, god knows I won’t”  
“So then why do it?” Enjolras asks leaning the painting against the brick wall of the building.  
“What do you mean?”  
“If you don’t display your paintings and you hardly ever give them away,” Enjolras explained, “Then why?”  
“I just have to” Grantaire had never really thought about it before. This proved once more how different Enjolras and Grantaire were. Grantaire was always doing, Enjolras was always asking why. “My brain just has a need to project what I see and combine it with what I feel, to create, well, that” Grantaire explained nodding his head to the coffee cup painting that was surrounded by rays of yellow and gold. “I’m afraid if I don’t get it onto a canvas my brain will just short out or something”  
Enjolras nodded, he was satisfied with Grantaire’s thoughtful answer, it gave meaning to his new artwork where Grantaire had signed ‘R’ thoughtlessly on the bottom right-hand side as he’d done thousands of times. This puzzled Enjolras, Grantaire was so thoughtful and yet thoughtless at the same time, he contradicted himself in far too many ways than Enjolras could keep track of.  
*  
Enjolras stood at the front of Le Café. Typically on Friday nights most people knew to stay away from that particular bar as the majority of the tables were taken by “The blonde guy and all his drunken friends” as they were known in the area.   
“Enjolras, you don’t know what you’re talking about!” Grantaire called from the back of the bar, all eyes turned to him. Grantaire is pretty sure he heard an “oooohhh damn” come from Bahorel.  
“Oh really?” Enjolras scoffed “then please Grantaire enlighten me with all your wisdom”  
“Okay, fine” Grantaire shoved himself up out of his chair between Combeferre and Eponine, he sauntered to the front of the bar and took his place beside Enjolras “Euthanasia, or Doctor-Assisted Suicide is humane, civil, and absolutely justifiable!”  
“Humane? Humane!” Enjolras repeated “What is human about being put to rest like a sick old dog?”  
“Not everything is about going out with a bang, Enjolras” Grantaire continued “pain can become unbearable extremely quickly, sometimes there nothing else you can do but-“  
“There is always another answer; death doesn’t need to be the answer” Enjolras spoke more softly this time as if he was trying to coax Grantaire down from a ledge.  
“In these situations, death is almost always inevitable” Grantaire argued his point further “why not choose the way you go?”  
“Nothing is inevitable unless you make it. That’s messing with fate, you have a time and a place to live and to die, and you shouldn’t get to choose”  
“Fate Enj, really?” Grantaire nearly laughed “Fate is bullshit and you know it”  
“Grantaire, go sit down” Enjolras spoke calmly.  
“What? No, I’m not done yet” Grantaire stated.  
Enjolras turned away from Grantaire and addressed his friends, “Okay everyone, to continue on with the night-“  
“Are you fucking joking right now?” Grantaire asked.  
“Abortion is one of the most highly controversial topics around the world to date, with over 75-“   
“This is so classic Enjolras. Just ignore things until they go away, is that how you’re going to live your life? Is that your fate?” Grantaire hissed “Congrats, you’ve got it. I’m gone”  
Grantaire walked from the front of the bar to the door.  
“Grantaire wait” Enjolras called after him. Grantaire whirled around hopeful and expectant. “You’re jacket; it’s still on the chair”  
Grantaire, quite frankly too proud to turn and get his coat continued out of the bar and walked home alone. Once inside he removed his sweatshirt and changed from his black jeans into grey sweatpants.  
He’d been home for going on an hour and had fallen into a trance while making tea in the silence of his apartment. A tap on the window behind him made him jump mid tea-sip. He swallowed quickly and turned around to see Enjolras perched like a bird outside of his apartment. He put down his mug and arrived at the window opening it for his neighbor.  
“Hey” Enjolras’ words were nearly whispers. His voice hitched slightly when he realised how near he was to Grantaire’s bare chest, his tattoos danced across his skin in beautiful rhythmic unity.   
“What do you want Enjolras” Grantaire was annoyed and made this very obvious through his tone.  
“I’m sorry” Enjolras found his eyes being drawn towards a red ribbon that twirled its way down Grantaire’s side. Enjolras reached his hand out and traced the ink with his finger feeling Grantaire’s skin against his own.  
“Enjolras, you do not get to do this” Grantaire warned but he couldn’t deny how Enjolras’ fingers on his abdomen made him feel.  
“I’m sorry” Enjolras said again pulling his hand back “I brought you this”  
Enjolras presented Grantaire with his jacket, in the darkness of the night you couldn’t tell that the coat was in fact navy blue and not black.   
“Thank you” Grantaire spoke quietly taking his coat from Enjolras who was still perched outside his window, “are you gonna come in?”  
Enjolras nodded and climbed into Grantaire’s home as he’d done time and time again.  
“Can you tell me about your tattoos?” Enjolras breathed siting on the windowsill this time on the inside of the apartment. Grantaire was stood between Enjolras’ legs  
“mhmm” Grantaire replied, he was still upset about what had happened at Le Café but decided to put the anger behind him because well, it was Enjolras, and Grantaire was standing shirtless in front of him and he seemed interested and what was Grantaire supposed to do?  
“Why the ribbon?” Enjolras questioned.  
“My sister,” Grantaire started “She used to wear red ribbons in her hair”  
“I didn’t know you had a sister” Enjolras’ eyes were full of wonder and found himself once again trancing the red ink with his finger.  
“She, um, she died when she was 8; I was 12” Grantaire struggled to form the words. Enjolras’ finger sharply stopped tracing the ribbon and instead he placed his palm over the entirety of the tattoo.  
“What was her name?” Enjolras asked, directing his eyes to Grantaire’s who smiled slightly before speaking.  
“Elodie” He said letting a tear escape his left eye. Enjolras wiped it away quickly with his thumb.  
“Why don’t you tell me about her” he suggested.  
To do this Grantaire had to think back to eleven years before. This came as a shock to him, he hadn’t realised it had been so long.  
“Okay” Grantaire sniffled, it had been a while since he’d spoke of his sister. The last person he talked to about the topic was Cosette and she was such a mess of tears that he couldn’t bring himself to share the details with her. He took a deep breath and began “Well, uhm, Elodie had beautiful blonde waves that sat right about here” Grantaire said drawing a line with his finger on Enjolras’ chest. “She really loved her ribbons, but uhm, her favourite was the red one. So one day when I was ten I took it from her room and tied it to the highest branch on the tree in our garden. She was so upset, and she had a wrath like no one I’ve ever met. So Elodie, a six year old girl, attempted to climb the tree and reach her ribbon and as you can imagine she couldn’t get more than three feet off the ground” Grantaire laughed at the memory, “The ribbon stay up in the tree for two years, it managed to survive the weather and the bird, we had a lot of mourning doves at that house. And then on the day of her funeral I climbed up the tree and untied the ribbon and she was buried with it in her hair. The whole thing was frayed and ratty looking but I insisted it needed to be buried with her and my parents were too exhausted to object. Besides, she looked happier, somehow more at peace when she had it with her.”  
Enjolras kissed Grantaire gently on the cheek; his lips absorbed a tear rolling its way down the latter’s face. This caused Grantaire to cry even harder until he was shaking in Enjolras’ arms and allowing choking sounds to escape his throat. He continued on like this for at least twenty minutes. Enjolras embraced him warmly and stroked circles into Grantaire’s back as he sobbed. Once Grantaire had relaxed slightly Enjolras took off his own sweatshirt and helped Grantaire put it on by pulling it over his head. He led Grantaire to his couch that was still fairly new and smelled like his cologne. As Grantaire lied on the couch huddled in Enjolras’ sweatshirt the latter twirled dark curls in his fingers until the former dozed to sleep, with tears dried on his face and Enjolras’ hands intertwined with his hair.  
*  
It was no secret that Enjolras and Grantaire were pining after each other. They were aware of it, all their friends saw it, even Marius realised what was going on; this spoke volumes.   
The connection was there however the timing was not. Every time the two had come close to getting together something wouldn’t fall into place quite right. Although they lived a staircase away from each other and Grantaire had often though about climbing down the fire escape, busting through the window and taking Enjolras right then and there; he knew that sadly it would never work out.   
They continued their morning coffee tradition and it became routine after a while. On Mondays and Thursdays they both had classes, on Tuesdays Enjolras worked as a barista at a job he absolutely loathed but it payed the bills so he couldn’t complain, Grantaire spent Tuesdays doing school work and filling out job applications, Wednesdays and Fridays were both of their favourite days of the week. On Wednesdays they would spend from dawn until dusk on the fire escape together and most often ordered take away food to be delivered to either of their apartments, they took turns paying. Grantaire would paint and Enjolras would do his assignments for his classes. On Fridays the two would spend the morning and afternoon together on the fire escape, Grantaire would switch between attempting to write more shitty papers for school and sketching in the margins of his textbooks, Enjolras enjoyed reading on Fridays and also planning topics for the meetings at Le Café that was to take place that night. They would each retreat to their separate apartments in late afternoon and then meet at the bar later with their friends.  
Life was good for Enjolras and Grantaire.  
Sexually frustrating, distracting, and annoying for Enjolras.  
Sexually frustrating, unhealthy, and confusing for Grantaire.  
But overall everything was great. The days went by, then weeks, then months. They co-existed and avoided not only murder but also sex which was okay for both of them. All-in-all life was good.  
*  
One Wednesday morning Enjolras made his way out to the fire escape, autumn had started to fade and the temperature dropping quickly. A red sweatshirt was layered over Enjolras’ plain t shirt. Grantaire was not outside yet. This was extremely uncommon. Enjolras climbed the ladder up to Grantaire’s apartment; all the lights were off however there was a note taped to the window.  
Enj,  
Got a call for a job interview, help yourself to the coffee machine (the mugs are in the cupboard by the stove) be home soon.  
R  
Enjolras smiled at the note as he folded it up and shoved it in his pocket. Grantaire had left his window cracked open slightly so that Enjolras could open it from the outside. He shimmied his way into the familiar apartment.  
Enjolras sat at Grantaire’s kitchen table and drank his coffee that was always brought out to him in the mornings. He used the dark green mug with the white heart at the bottom of the cup, it reminded him of Grantaire. He jumped when he heard the door of the apartment swing open and slam shut.  
“Grantaire, you son of a bitch, I’m here to collect the money you owe me! I’m doing a pick up later and I still don’t have the $100 you owe me from the last 10 grams I got you!” It was Eponine “I love you R, but I can’t keep feeding your drug addiction if you aren’t going to-“ She froze when she walked into the kitchen and saw Enjolras sitting at Grantaire’s table. “Well you are certainly not who I’m looking for”  
“He’s at a job interview” Enjolras replied dryly.  
“Do you often drink coffee alone in R’s apartment?” Eponine asked removing her scarf and grabbing herself a coffee mug. She chose the light yellow one with the blue handle.  
“Do you often barge into Grantaire’s apartment unannounced, screaming about drug money?” Enjolras countered.  
“More than you may think, my friend” Eponine smiled and sat down across from Enjolras with her coffee in hand “Seriously though, what are you doing here?”  
Enjolras took the folded piece of paper from his pocket and slid it across the table. Eponine read it over quickly and nodded.  
“So uh, how’s this situation working out?” Eponine asked Enjolras shook his head.  
“it’s not” he took a sip of coffee.  
“Other than that one night” Eponine raised her eyebrows.  
“Grantaire told you?” Enjolras looked embarrassed.  
“Of course he told me, E” Eponine scoffed “we tell each other everything. Besides that happened months ago”  
“Everything?” Enjolras shifted uncomfortably, Eponine nodded.  
“Oh relax, he’s not going to tell anyone about us” Eponine reassured him “what’s there to even tell, really”  
“Marius would be pissed” Enjolras stated “Don’t you think?”  
“Marius has a pregnant wife Enjolras, who I fuck in my spare time is the least of his concerns” Eponine laughed, however her face soon turned serious “It took a lot for Grantaire to turn you away that night, you realise this right?”  
Enjolras nodded. He hated how conceited it sounded but Enjolras was extremely aware of Grantaire’s feelings for him.  
“Listen,” Eponine warned “R doesn’t see the emotional damage he’s putting himself through by hanging out with you all the time. You’re a great guy E, you know this, I know this, and Grantaire certainly knows this. But there comes a point where you need to take a step back and ask yourself what’s really going on here”  
Enjolras opened his mouth to speak but quickly realised that he didn’t know what to say.  
Eponine continued, “All I’m saying is that I don’t want to see R get hurt, so if you aren’t in this for the long haul, I think it’s time for you to stop before this gets out of hand”  
Just then the door opened and shut once more.   
“Just think about it” Eponine concluded in a lower voice, before getting up from the table and greeting Grantaire at the door.  
“What’re you doing here” Grantaire asked Eponine, Enjolras could hear the smile in Grantaire’s voice.  
“Looking for my money” Eponine said kissing Grantaire’s cheek.  
“Oh yeah! I have that it’s right over-“Grantaire ran into the kitchen and stopped when he saw Enjolras still sitting at his table “Oh hey, so you got my note”  
“I did” Enjolras nodded his head towards the creased piece of paper on the table  
“Ponine it’s right here!” Grantaire called reaching into a cookie jar and pulling out a stack of bills, he turned to Enjolras “Don’t tell anyone about my secret stash” Grantaire winked and gave a wad of cash to Eponine.  
She looked at her watch  
“Oh shit” she muttered “I’ve got to go, can I call you later?”  
Grantaire nodded and Eponine kissed his cheek once more. She shot Enjolras a look before grabbing her scarf and exiting the apartment.  
“Were you able to figure out the coffee machine?” Grantaire asked picking up Eponine’s mug and rinsing out the contents in his sink.  
“Mhmm” Enjolras hummed taking another sip of his coffee “how’d the interview go?”  
“Great actually!” Grantaire exclaimed sitting across from Enjolras “it was at a photography studio, you know the one downtown. Anyways, I really think they liked me”  
“That’s amazing R!” Enjolras smiled but both he and Grantaire noticed what had come out of his mouth. ‘R’ Enjolras thought to himself, since when do I call him R?   
In one swift movement Grantaire pushed back from the table and left his chair behind. He found a new seat straddled over Enjolras’ lap and did not hesitate to close the gap between them with a kiss. Enjolras smiled into the kiss but soon found himself passionately moving his lips in sync with Grantaire’s. He hungered for more of Grantaire; he needed him more than he needed oxygen. Grantaire held Enjolras’ cheek with one hand and wrapped the other around the latter’s neck pulling at the bottoms of his curls. Enjolras’ hands found their way to Grantaire hips and were soon sneaking their way around to Grantaire’s ass. Grantaire pushed himself flush with Enjolras and allowed his lips to part wider in response to the gentle nip Enjolras had given him with his teeth. The two remained at this pace for quite a while, enjoying each other’s lips. Enjolras tasted subtly like coffee and sugar, Grantaire tasted surprisingly like mint, the two worked well together. It wasn’t until Grantaire’s hands had wandered down to Enjolras’ belt that a thought popped into the latter’s mind.  
“R” Enjolras said between kisses, it came out as more of a moan. This encouraged Grantaire, he moved his lips across Enjolras’ jawline as if he was painting a pointillism image all over him.   
“R” Enjolras repeated, this time with more composure than the last. Grantaire continued his pointillism painting down Enjolras’ neck stopping periodically to suck purple bruises into his skin.  
“Grantaire” Enjolras breathed sternly.  
“What?” Grantaire pulled away with a look of concern washed over his face “is this okay?”  
“I just-“ Enjolras looked Grantaire in the eyes, Eponine’s words echoed in his mind. He was feeling the pressure. “Are you sure about this?”  
“I’m so sure Enj” Grantaire said, Enjolras closed the gap between them once again.   
Grantaire leaned into Enjolras’ mouth. The latter parted his lips and allowed for Grantaire to go deeper into the kiss. Enjolras grabbed at Grantaire’s shirt, it was a button down. This was unusual for Grantaire; his typical everyday wear consisted of jeans and a sweatshirt. Today however, he was wearing a forest green button down shirt and khakis that clung tightly to his thighs. This turned Enjolras on more than anything.  
On the other hand Enjolras looked lazy and beautiful that morning. His hair was tied back into the ponytail that Grantaire loved so much. His red sweatshirt brought out the fairness of his skin which brought out his fading summertime freckles.  
Grantaire’s phone began to ring from his pocket. The two ignored the vibrations and music.  
It rung again.  
“Wait” Grantaire pulled away, out of breath. He pulled his phone from his pocket and looked at the screen “Damn it”  
“What?” Enjolras exhaled shakily.  
“It’s the photo studio, I must have gotten the job” Grantaire had a look of bittersweet joy.  
“Take it” Enjolras smiled “I can wait”  
Grantaire put the phone to his ear and walked out of the kitchen, he took the call to his bedroom.  
When the call was over ten minutes later, he was smiling for two reasons, he had gotten the job of his dreams and the man of his dreams was waiting for him just down the hallway.   
Still smiling Grantaire walked through the living room and into the kitchen. It was empty. Enjolras’ coffee mug sat alone on the table with the note Grantaire had left on the window. Upon closer inspection Grantaire realised it was not his hand writing on the note, he picked it up and scanned the paper:  
Grantaire,  
I’m so sorry, I’m more confused than you could ever know. Please forgive me and don’t let this ruin the memories we’ve made over the past few months. I will carry them with me fondly. Good luck with your new job, I’m so proud of you.  
Enjolras  
“Enjolras” Grantaire called out dropping the paper and allowing it to delicately flutter to the floor.  
He threw open his window and nearly jumped down the fire escape. He pressed his forehead to the window of Enjolras’ apartment; everything was still, peaceful, quiet.   
“Enjolras!” Grantaire was now yelling “Enjolras, Enjolras, Enjolras, Enjolras!”   
Grantaire violently banged on the window. He climbed recklessly up the ladder and back into his own apartment. He ran into every room checking for the familiar blonde hair and coffee scent, he looked in the building’s hallway next, and then back out on the fire escape. Tears streamed down Grantaire’s cheeks and were absorbed into his lips.  
“Enjolras!” he shouted once more.  
From the streets below Enjolras could hear his name being called. The wind blew harshly against his face and projected his tears back into his hairline. He wiped his eyes with the sleeves of his red sweatshirt and continued to walk quickly without looking back. His heart broke with every step he took away from Grantaire.  
*  
It had been four days since anyone had heard from or saw Enjolras. Grantaire seemed to be coping with his absence however he hadn’t so much as looked at the fire escape since he left. He had started his new job arranging photo boards and putting together scrapbooks for weddings and baby showers at the photography studio downtown. This kept his mind busy. He continued attending his art classes at university however with no one around to listen to his rants about the mainstream art world he found it difficult to focus. He resorted to creating paintings of landscapes; his teacher seemed to prefer these over the abstract works that he’d created in the past. Grantaire decided that landscapes were to be his new art style, he wasn’t impressed with this decision but then again he wasn’t impressed by too much else in his life at that point.   
Grantaire walked up the old stairs of his old apartment building, he began to mount the sixth flight and braced himself to walk past Enjolras’ apartment as he did most days. When he got up the stairs he was surprised to see the door was open. Without thought Grantaire ran through the doorway and to his utter disbelief he was met with Courfeyrac’s face just a few steps into the apartment.  
“Grantaire” he said, panic in his voice “Shouldn’t you be at school?”  
“My class was cancelled” Grantaire looked past Courfeyrac and further into the apartment “What are you doing here?”  
“I’m just, I had to-“ Courfeyrac stumbled over his words  
“Do you know where he is? Courf please” Grantaire begged.  
Courfeyrac took pity on him “I’m sorry R I don’t know where he is. Marius just needed me to grab some stuff from here and bring it to Le Café”  
“Marius?” Grantaire almost hissed “Why would Marius need Enjolras’ stuff? Where is he? Is he at the bar?”  
“I- uh yeah I think so” Grantaire took off down the stairs as soon as Courfeyrac spoke “R, wait! Shit!” Courfeyrac exclaimed calling after his friend.  
Once outside Grantaire’s feet couldn’t seem to take him fast enough. His walking turned to jogging which turned to run which turned to full on sprinting the short few blocks to the bar. He busted through the door and saw a few familiar faces, none of which was the face he had hoped to see.  
“Marius!” Grantaire exclaimed darting towards the table where he saw his friend seated. Marius, Cosette, Combeferre, and Eponine all sat together and looked at him.  
“Grantaire?” Marius spoke with confusion “what are you doing here?”  
“Where is he?” Grantaire was out of breath.  
“What?” Marius was more confused than ever.  
“Enjolras, where is he. I know you’ve talked to him, now where he is!” Grantaire was yelling now.  
“R” Eponine’s voice was sharp yet comforting “Take a seat, you’re acting crazy”  
“I’m not acting crazy! None of you seem to care that our friend, all of our friend has just fallen off the face of the Earth!” Grantaire was turning red “I’m in love with him and he’s gone! He’s gone!”  
“Grantaire, just calm down” Marius spoke standing up “let’s talk about this”  
“No” Grantaire snapped, Marius placed a hand on his shoulder and attempted to guide him to a chair. “Tell me right now or I swear to god I’ll kill you”  
All eyes in the bar were now on Marius and Grantaire.  
“I can’t tell you” Marius spoke quietly.  
“Why?” Grantaire was seething.  
Marius looked nervous, but eventually spoke, “Because he asked me not to”  
Grantaire swung his arm and his fist connected harshly with Marius cheek, he fell to the ground unprepared for the impact of the blow. Cosette shrieked and rushed to his side. Combeferre held Grantaire back from jumping on Marius and hitting him again.  
“Grantaire, you idiot!” Eponine hissed joining Cosette in aiding the unconscious man on the floor.  
“Leave, Grantaire!” Cosette practically screamed “Now!”  
Grantaire wriggled his way out of Combeferre’s grasp and shoved past Courfeyrac who had just missed the big scene.  
“Fuck” he let out and walked to Combeferre’s side.  
Grantaire walked alone back to his apartment, he walked up six flights of stairs, he glared at Enjolras’ apartment, and then walked up another flight of stairs before entering his own home. He kicked off his shoes and dropped his bag on the floor. He walked past the kitchen where he’d kissed the love of his life, he walked past the window where they’d spent sunny days together out on the fire escape sharing their problems and doing work over cups of coffee, he walked through the living room where he’d seen the beautiful painted golden face in his mind; a face he knew he would never see again, he walked down the hallway and into his bedroom, the bedroom Enjolras almost saw. Had Grantaire not answered the phone that day Enjolras would have unbuttoned his forest green shirt and Grantaire would have pulled Enjolras’ red hoody over his head. Enjolras would’ve picked up Grantaire and walked down the hallway to the bedroom whilst keeping their lips locked with one-another. They would have enter the bedroom and lied down on the bed and been together and in love the way Grantaire had dreamed of for the past three years of his life.  
But instead Grantaire had a new job, and Enjolras was existing in this world without him.  
*  
Three months had passed and this time really no one had heard from Enjolras. The rent on his apartment had expired and the landlord had the locks changed after all of Enjolras’ stuff was moved into Courfeyrac and Combeferre’s place. Grantaire went to a very dark place periodically after his falling out with Marius and Cosette, however after a miscarriage scare they were able to make amends and forget about the entire situation. Eponine offered to move in with Grantaire a few weeks after Enjolras had been gone and everyone decided he wasn’t coming back. Grantaire refused her offer. The meetings still took place every Friday at Le Café however they weren’t meetings any more, they were yet another excuse for a leaderless group of young people to get drunk on a Friday night. Grantaire really didn’t mind this change; he was never fond of how he and Enjolras treated each other at meetings.  
Grantaire turned on the news one morning and drank his coffee; this had become his new morning routine. The news reporter was speaking from a university campus nearby where a rally was taking place to fight against the removal of art courses at the school for the following semester. There was talk that Grantaire’s university would be doing the same. The leader of the rally was presented by the reporter, Grantaire sat up and looked closer at his small television. It was Enjolras.   
He picked up his phone and called Eponine  
“Turn on channel 12” he ordered and hung up before she could answer. He did the same with Cosette, Combeferre, Joly, and Bahorel. This way he knew the television would be on in everyone’s homes.  
He turned his attention back towards the TV.  
“Art students are often misunderstood” Enjolras spoke “They are just as important as Science or English majors”  
“And this is coming from and art major?” the reporter questioned  
“Me? No” Enjolras laughed his beautifully brilliant laugh “I don’t have the talent. I’m a politics student”  
“Then why all this?” the reporter asked gesturing to the rally taking place behind them.  
“A good friend of mine, he was- is an art student” Enjolras spoke looking to the camera “He had the most brilliant mind I’ve ever known. He once told me that if I had something important to say and it really was important enough, the whole world would stand behind me. I hope he’s right”  
“Thank you very much” the reporter said and closed off the story. Grantaire was gaping at what he’d just witnessed.  
His phone ran, it was Cosette who was now seven months pregnant with a healthy child. The gender was to be a surprise.  
“Cosette?” he answered.  
“Holy fuck” she replied. Grantaire could hear Marius in the background scolding her for swearing with the child around. This was a highly debated topic in the Pontmercy household. Cosette claiming that since she was carrying the child she could do “whatever she damn well pleased” Marius stood on the complete opposite side of the argument. Cosette usually won the battle.  
“I know” he said “I have to go I’m getting another call”  
He hung up and answered a second phone call.  
“Hello?”   
“Oh my god” it was Combeferre   
“This is fucking crazy” Courfeyrac called, Grantaire guessed he was on speaker phone.  
“That was about you right? He was talking about you” Combeferre questioned.  
“Yeah, it had to be.” Grantaire spoke, still in utter shock, “He looked good right?”  
“Grantaire” Courfeyrac warned “You’ve been doing so well lately. Don’t let this mess with you”  
“I know, it’s just, he seemed happy” Grantaire said thoughtfully “he said in his note he would think of me with fondness, I guess he was genuine”  
“Don’t dwell on it R” Combeferre replied   
“I have to go” Grantaire spoke evenly.  
“Grantaire” Combeferre spoke sternly “you’re a good guy, remember that”  
“Bye” Grantaire disconnected the call before either of them could reply.  
*  
Grantaire went to class that Thursday afternoon, many people in the art studio were chatting about the rally they’d all seen it on the news that morning.  
“Grantaire” a classmate called to him. Grantaire was pulled from the trance he fell into whilst painting a sunset. Landscapes were still all he could paint, much to his dismay.  
“Yeah?” Grantaire asked swirling his brush around in a dish of water.  
“Wasn’t that your roommate or something on the news this morning? You know, at the rally?” She asked, Enjolras had stopped by his classes a few times to bring him coffee or check up on how a project of his was coming along. Grantaire was surprised his classmate remembered him, then again, Enjolras’ was not an easy face to forget.  
“Uh, no” Grantaire replied “Just an old friend”  
On the underground home that afternoon a blonde head of hair caught Grantaire’s eye. The curls were loose and hung just below the nape of the neck. Grantaire gently weaved his way through the fellow commuters mumbling an “excuse me” or a “sorry” every so often. He approached the boy whose back was turned to him; Grantaire stretched his neck and attempted everything in his power to view the blonde’s face. Glancing next at the boy’s body and backpack to see if he recognized anything, no luck.  
Finally Grantaire gave in, “excuse me?”  
The boy turned around and smiled, “Hi”  
“Oh” Grantaire tried not to sound disappointed however he failed miserably “sorry I thought you were someone else”  
“Oh damn, that’s the worst” the boy looked genuinely upset for Grantaire “were you supposed to meet him here”  
Grantaire chuckled and looked at the train that surrounded him “no, I just- from the back you looked a lot like him”  
“Well, I hope you find him” the boy offered up a generous smile.  
“Thank you” Grantaire did the same.  
“Well, this is my stop” the cart was coming to a slow halt “It was great to meet you…” the boy trailed of waiting for a reply.  
“R” Grantaire introduced himself  
“R” he repeated thoughtfully “well, keep looking for him R, he couldn’t have gone too far”  
And in a matter of seconds Grantaire watched as another blonde haired boy walked right out of his life.  
*  
The long and difficult winter had nearly passed and spring was quickly approaching. Everyone found themselves having something exciting going on.   
Grantaire decided to sell some of his paintings online to make a few extra bucks and quite frankly, declutter his apartment. It started with just a fun way to display his artwork but he was soon receiving messages from people offering large amounts of money for some of his old paintings. He had made the most on a portrayal of Jehan surrounded in flowers and with Jehan’s permission he sold it to a popular art collector who spoke very highly of the artist known as “R” at his next art gala.  
Combeferre and Courfeyrac had begun talk of a wedding, not to each other of course, but to Grantaire. Little did either of them know but Grantaire was the mastermind behind the entirety of the engagement plans.  
Joly, Bossuet, and Musichetta were busy as always. Joly was nearing the end of his second year in med school, Bossuet was studying furiously for the bar exam, and Musichetta was running art lessons at the local community centre.  
Eponine and Jehan were living just the two of them now (and Gavroche every other week). Eponine had decided to take up photography, and Jehan continued with the beautiful poetry as always. The two bonded beautifully since Feuilly moved out; always braiding each other’s hair, and Jehan often modelling for Eponine’s blog.  
After apparent months of doing a fantastic job of sneaking around it was announced that Feuilly and Bahorel were a couple, and a lovely one at that. They moved in together shortly after telling each other of their ongoing affair.   
Marius and Cosette were bursting at the seams; Marius emotionally, Cosette quite literally. With the baby only a few weeks away the two were absolutely overjoyed and performing all the regular new-parent-tasks such as painting the nursery (with Grantaire’s help of course), being gifted with baby clothing (mostly from Jehan and Courfeyrac), and putting together furniture for the baby’s room (Marius was the handiest of the group however he still wasn’t great and needed a lot of assistance from Cosette’s father; whom Marius was absolutely terrified of. This was an entertaining afternoon for Cosette).  
And Enjolras was making himself famous in the media through campaigns, blogs, television interviews, and loud rioting protests. This did not go unnoticed by anyone, specifically his old friends; just as Grantaire had assured him of nearly half a year ago. The protests to bring back the art courses at university were successful and since then Enjolras had moved on to other causes; poverty, marriage equality, homeless youth, and legalizing Euthanasia.  
Enjolras. They still spoke of him often; at first with words of sadness, then anger and bitterness, and eventually with remorse of his absence. What had he been up to for the past four months? That was the question burning on everyone’s mind. Well, the answer of this begins with the day he left.  
When Grantaire answered the phone that day Enjolras was given time to think about what exactly was happening between them, he was thoroughly confused and quite frankly upset because of this. He wanted to be with Grantaire just as much as Grantaire wanted to be with him, maybe even more. He thought about all the things Grantaire had said to him about finding his cause and making it a good one. Enjolras got nervous because somewhere in the midst of sunshine and coffee his cause had become Grantaire. Enjolras had always ridiculed others for being reliant on their partners and when he saw that he and Grantaire began to lean on each other in this emotional way he needed to put a stop to it, for both of their well-being. He couldn’t stand the idea of losing Grantaire; however the idea of Grantaire or anyone else being all Enjolras had made him even more upset.  
He scrawled his note on the back of the one Grantaire had left for him and quickly evacuated the apartment through the window. Enjolras thought it was funny that he finally seemed to be using the fire escape for its designed purpose. He quickly realised that this wasn’t funny. Working quickly he entered his own apartment and went to his safe where he kept his money. Unlike the cookie jar where Grantaire stored his cash, Enjolras’ was secure and organized. He took out all the money as well as his passport and ID. Enjolras shoved these into a backpack and tossed his keys, phone and wallet in as well. Next Enjolras changed from his slippers into more durable running shoes and he threw a jacket into his backpack for good measure. He darted for the window once more and decided he would find a way to retrieve everything else later. Whilst climbing out the window of his apartment something caught his eye, a yellow tea cup with a blue handle. Enjolras exhaled, frustrated with his own ridiculous emotions and dove back inside the apartment retrieved the small canvas before escaping back out the window like a boomerang. Managing to quickly fly down the fire escape he reached the street and began to walk. He felt uneasy and considered going back. He thought about the time it took to get down the fire escape and that if he was quick enough he could make it back into Grantaire’s apartment before Grantaire was even off the phone.   
“Enjolras!” he heard the helpless cry of Grantaire from a moderate distance away. At that moment he knew there was absolutely no going back. He’d made his decision, he hated it, however this was important to him.  
The tears began to flow, lightly at first, calmly and silently as he walked down the road. Then they got larger, quicker, and more frequent. He’d barely made it to the restroom of a local café before he burst into tears. Shaking, sobbing, and panting in the ways Grantaire did when he spoke of his sister. He longed to be in Grantaire’s embrace as he was less than an hour before. It was at this moment that Enjolras had realized the detriment of his emotions. It was more than just emotions, it was love.  
Enjolras cried harder at the thought.  
A few days later Enjolras reached out to Marius. He’d received texts and missed calls from everyone, Grantaire included. He decided upon Marius after careful thought. He wasn’t close enough to Grantaire that he would tell him what was going on, at most he would tell Cosette and she’s the best secret keeper out of all of them. Marius also was not close enough to Enjolras that he would try to convince him to stay.   
The plan they had decided on, after a lot of questions from Marius, was that Marius was to gather all of the important things from his apartment: books, his laptop, school work, photographs, etc. and meet Enjolras at Le Café before helping to move these things into the hotel room Enjolras was staying in outside of the main city.  
Enjolras of course did not count on Marius telling Courfeyrac which is quite frankly the equivalent to standing on a chair and screaming into a megaphone. When Enjolras arrived at Le café that day he rounded the corner and while doing so he saw Grantaire storming out the doors and walking in the opposite direction. His fists were clenched and he was staring at his feet. It took everything Enjolras had not to run to him and hold him and kiss him and tell him that everything would be alright. Instead Enjolras ran; he ran back around the corner and as far away from Le Café as possible. He decided that ultimately he didn’t need what was in his apartment; he’d retrieved the only important things the day he left.  
As far as school had gone, Enjolras had managed to finish the rest of the semester without being seen by Grantaire. He found this rather shocking as their classes were on the same days. He then thought that if Grantaire had wanted to, he could have come to any of his classes to talk to him and that maybe Grantaire didn’t want him as much as Enjolras had hoped.  
When the semester ended Enjolras transferred to a different university that was one town over and near to Enjolras’ new, tiny apartment. This apartment didn’t have a fire escape that connected to his window, it didn’t have cups of coffee, it didn’t have sunshine all day, and it didn’t have the lovely boy upstairs to argue with and kiss. The only thing this apartment did have was the yellow tea cup with the blue handle hanging above his window.  
It was at this school that the art courses were to be cancelled. Second semester was in full swing and once the word had spread that the art students were to be removed from their programs in the up-coming September Enjolras was one of the only few politics majors who seemed to care. He organized new meetings with new faces he didn’t recognize; the meetings were large and consisted of nearly the entire arts department. They planned the protests, they made signs, they created fundraising projects, and they projected their beliefs to social media.  
After the rally was over the arts program had been renewed and everyone went out to celebrate. Enjolras attempted to have fun and even talk to a few people but all he could think about was his old friend the art major and whether or not he’d seen him on the news that morning. Probably not, Enjolras thought to himself. Grantaire never watched television; he’d always had a million better things to do.  
Enjolras was faced with more social issues and continued to react with just as much passion, he’d finally found his causes but no matter how many signs he made or interviews he did nothing made him feel as happy as his old cause. His old friend the art major, who was doing so well without him, who had a new fancy website, who was spoke of often amongst the art students at meetings, who didn’t need Enjolras. He missed him, he loved him, and he didn’t know what to do. Until, one day he did.  
*  
Grantaire painted in his bedroom. It was a dark night and he could hardly see the colours he was using in the darkness of the space. This added a level of excitement to his painting, he was creating a city skyline, and although the brush work was beautiful Grantaire didn’t like the painting. He didn’t like much of his paintings these days. As the collection of his old work slowly dwindled away Grantaire had nothing to show for the way his art used to be.   
Music blared out of a speaker in his kitchen, it was contemporary music with the occasional ballad every once and a while.   
He suddenly felt uneasy, as a chill of cold air sent shivers down his spine. Paintbrush still in hand Grantaire poked his head out of his bedroom door and glanced down the hallway. He’d wanted to get a cup of coffee for a while and these new unsure feelings about his apartment drew him out to the kitchen.   
Once in the kitchen Grantaire saw it. The shadow of a person, a man, standing near the window. He jumped back dropping his paintbrush and most likely staining his floor with the paint; the colour of which was unclear.  
“I’ll call the cops” Grantaire warned reaching for his pocket and realizing he’d left his phone on his desk, in his room “Fuck”  
“Grantaire” the man said and stepped closer his eyes were now visible from the strip of moonlight entering the apartment from the window. The light illuminated not only his blue eyes but also the sides of his hair. His curls.  
Upon realization of who the man was Grantaire grew cold, “how’d you get in”  
The man nodded his head towards the window that lead to the fire escape, “you left the window cracked”  
“You kind of lost the right to just barge in whenever you feel like it” Grantaire pulled a mug from the cupboard randomly. He picked the yellow one with the blue handle. Another thought came to him, “what were you going to do if the window wasn’t open?”  
“Wait, I guess” the man shrugged.  
“Enjolras, I think you should go” Grantaire spoke firmly turning towards him once more.  
“I’ve missed you”  
“So what, you just decided to show up in my home four months after abandoning me in this exact room” Grantaire was growing angry now.  
“I’m sorry” Enjolras spoke and walked closer to Grantaire. “I was scared; I thought that I was too dependent on you. I needed to find my cause, what I should be living for, like you said”  
“Well I hope you found it” Grantaire spoke with sarcasm in his voice “I hope something good came out of all of this because while you were out experiencing self-discovery I was-“  
“I found my cause” Enjolras said close enough now that Grantaire could smell his cologne.  
“Jesus Enjolras, not everything is about you all the time can you just let me-“  
Grantaire was cut off again by Enjolras, not his words so much as his lips. Grantaire pulled away quickly.  
“No, Enjolras, no. Absolutely not.” Grantaire was speaking loudly, full of anger, lust, and confusion “I am not going to let you do this again”  
“Grantaire my cause is you” Enjolras said smiling at Grantaire’s anger, he found it ridiculously attractive.  
“What?”  
“It’s you. It’s always been you, forever, since we met. You just showed up at the bar one day and you challenged me, and tested my patience, and drove me insane. I stayed up nights thinking about you, for fucks sake I slept with Eponine in an attempt to get over you. The feelings, they were new and unclear and frustratingly wonderful. And the first time we touched, I mean really touched, right here in this kitchen and we were surrounded by all our friends but I just wanted you, more of you, at that very second and for the rest of my life. And the fire escape was hot and sunny and you looked perfect with paint on your hands and the tip of your tongue poking between your lips when you were focused. And the way you fold down the corners of your books instead of using a bookmark even though I know for a fact that you own one because I helped Combeferre pick one out for you. And I’m in love with you Grantaire. I love you” Enjolras gushed and mentally beat himself up at the mushiness and atrocity of the words he spoke.  
“You- I- but you left Enjolras” Grantaire didn’t know how to feel “you left me, here alone without even calling. I missed you so fucking much and you just left me”  
“I know, I’m an idiot but I need you, and I want you and I missed you and I still miss you, R” Enjolras was frantic now for Grantaire to understand his emotions.  
“I loved you, I- I love you” Grantaire reciprocated the emotion.  
Enjolras pressed himself to Grantaire once more and this time there were no objections. Their lips moved together and it was the best kiss yet. It had been so long and desperately needed by both of them. The kiss itself was not desperate; it was beautiful and harmonic with Grantaire contemporary music still playing in the background.  
“I love you” Enjolras repeated catching his breath “fuck, R, I love you so much”  
“I saw you on the news” Grantaire said placing another kiss to Enjolras “you were beautiful and intelligent and-“  
“And talking about you”  
The two connected with more energy this time and began to move their bodies in an attempt to get more of each other and more of their kiss. Enjolras’ hips bucked forward slightly and Grantaire responded with a slight moan.  
“Ennnj” he carried out, nearly whining Enjolras’ name.   
Grantaire worked quickly at Enjolras’ button down shirt dotting little kisses as he went down his torso. Enjolras threw his head back with pleasure as Grantaire, now on his knees began working at Enjolras’ belt. He paused for a moment and looked up.  
“Is this okay?” he asked and Enjolras nodded in reassurance.  
After pulling down the jeans and boxers Grantaire began coaxing Enjolras with his hand before getting his mouth on him. Enjolras let out a small noise and pulled onto Grantaire’s hair as a way to anchor himself from floating away with pleasure. Grantaire found his rhythm in no time and went straight to work moving himself closer and further from Enjolras’ body as he did so Enjolras continued with his small muffled sounding noises that Grantaire loved so dearly. He continued until Enjolras informed him with a cry of pure ecstasy that he was close to coming. Grantaire removed himself from Enjolras and stood up keeping one hand on him giving him firm strokes and sucking on his neck far too high for any neckline to cover.   
Once he’d finished, Enjolras divided his attention to Grantaire pinning him against the nearest wall and restraining his hands in doing so. He repeating Grantaire’s actions and was presented with satisfactory noises that were louder and more moaning than Enjolras’ adorable cries and squeaks.  
Once Grantaire had came the two returned to breathless sloppy kissing that carried them down the hallway; stopping occasionally for the odd pin against a wall or grab of the ass, and into Grantaire’s bed where the two lied in each other’s arms, breathless, exhausted and in love. Grantaire running his hands through Enjolras’ curls and Enjolras outlining all of Grantaire’s tattoos with his finger.  
“Enjolras?” Grantaire whispered.  
“Yeah?”  
“When are you coming home?”  
“I’m already here and I’m never leaving again” Enjolras whispered back with a smile.  
*  
Grantaire awoke the next day and longingly gazed at Enjolras and all his beauty restful amongst blankets and sheets. His hair was tangled in a beautiful mess and shined bright as the sun caught the light in every last curl. He was breathtaking and Grantaire finally saw it. He saw the way Enjolras was meant to be painted, except this time he was really here and he wasn’t just a creation of Grantaire’s imagination that would soon fade away.   
Grantaire carefully removed himself from the bed and pulled on a pair of sweatpants leaving the top half of his body exposed. He glanced at the skyline painting and saw its atrocious colours and bland subject matter. He removed the canvas from the easel and leaned it against the wall, ashamed of his work. He then rummaged to the back of his closet attempting to keep the noise to a minimum so that Enjolras would remain asleep in his bed. Grantaire nearly trembled at the thought.  
After retrieving the largest canvas Grantaire fastened it into the easel and faced towards his light, beautiful, new subject.   
It was about 7 a.m. when Grantaire began his creation. He was an early riser lately, he’d become accustomed to the early work hours and even on his days off he found his body waking up naturally like an internal alarm clock was sounding. Enjolras on the other hand was the opposite, with all his classes occurring in late afternoon he often didn’t wake until 11a.m. And right on cue as the clock turned to 11:03 a.m. Enjolras finally stirred. He let out a small sound through barely parted lips as he came to consciousness. Grantaire at this time was turned around shuffling through a drawer full of blue paints to create shadows in Enjolras’ golden locks. Enjolras enjoyed the sight of Grantaire’s tattooed back and his grey sweatpants that clung tightly to his bum. Grantaire turned around quickly, paint on his hands and speckled down his front.  
“Try not to move” he spoke softly, “I’m nearly finished”  
Enjolras smiled shyly and obeyed the artist.  
“I still have your coffee cup painting” Enjolras said after a while, the blues and yellows on Grantaire’s paint palette reminded him of this.  
“May I interest you in a collection of landscape paintings entitled ‘Grantaire’s shitty uninspired art works’” he spoke with a paintbrush between his teeth, using both hands to rummage through more drawers.   
“Oh please” Enjolras scoffed.  
“It’s all I could paint” Grantaire said removing the brush from his mouth and going back to work on the canvas, “Chetta says they’re good but Chetta’s also a liar so..”  
Enjolras laughed and shifted slightly, Grantaire shot him a look.  
“sorry” he said still smiling at the thought of his friends, “How is everyone doing?”  
“really good actually” Grantaire stopped painting momentarily to study Enjolras, he then returned his attention to the canvas, “Chetta is actually teaching an art class for kids down at the community centre, and Courf is talking about proposing to Ferre but Ferre wants to beat him to it, and Cosette is about pop out a child at any given moment.”  
“Boy or girl?” Enjolras asked and beamed at the image of big bellied Cosette and Marius unable to remove his hands from her belly in an attempt to ‘connect with the baby’, this seemed like something Marius would do.  
“It’s going to be a surprise” Grantaire informed him “oh! And Feuilly and Bahorel are a thing now; apparently they have been since before you…”  
Grantaire trailed off and looked at Enjolras in the eyes. Enjolras forced a smile and tried to move past the discomfort.  
“How have you been doing, Grantaire?” Enjolras asked.  
“Honestly, not great” Grantaire dropped his eyes.  
“Me neither” Enjolras looked upset “But I’m here now”  
“I know” Grantaire smiling reassuringly “Me too”  
Grantaire returned to his painting and after another twenty minutes he stepped back, paint brush between his teeth and stared at his painting, then at Enjolras, then back to his painting. He stepped to his canvas and added a small flick of his brush on the left hand side and then stepped away and repeated the same process of glancing back and forth. He stepped forward one last time and left a small initial on the bottom right hand corner of the canvas.  
“Done” he breathed out.  
“Can I move?” Enjolras asked wearily, Grantaire nodded.   
Enjolras pushed himself off the bed exposing his boxers and bare chest. He walked to the canvas and wrapped his arms around Grantaire from behind. He rested his chin on Grantaire’s shoulder and examined the painting. It was wonderful. Enjolras was lying amongst white bed sheets that Grantaire painted to look like silky satin, only one half of Enjolras was placed on the canvas but it was close up and extremely detailed; down to every last one of Enjolras’ extremely light coloured freckle. Enjolras’ eyes were piercingly blue and his hair was as golden as the sun itself, the colourings were extremely accurate. Enjolras noticed the way that Grantaire had even created his eyelashes and the way they start dark and fade to blonde at the ends of them. The entire painting was beautiful including the small red ‘R’ in the bottom right hand corner.  
Enjolras planted a kiss on Grantaire’s cheek; he had been nervously studying the painting along with Enjolras.  
“It’s amazing” Enjolras said softly, “It’s more than amazing, it’s…, I cannot even find the words to describe to you how much I love this painting.”  
“You made it beautiful” Grantaire said turning around so he was face-to-face with Enjolras.  
“No, Grantaire, you did” Enjolras smiled before kissing Grantaire once more.  
The two were interrupted by the ringing of Grantaire phone. This felt all too familiar; regretfully Grantaire reached for his phone and answered it parting himself from Enjolras.  
“Hello?” he asked into the phone. “Marius-I- okay I’ll be there” Grantaire said frantically, he listen to Marius speak on the other end, “Yes, I know. Mhmm, okay. Tell her I love her. We’ll be there soon. I- I will be there soon”  
He hung up and smiled brightly so his white teeth were gleaming. Enjolras smiled at just the sight.  
“Well?” Enjolras asked.  
“I have to meet everyone at the hospital, Cosette’s gone into labour” Grantaire was laughing as he pulled a shift over his head; it was the shirt he’d worn the night before. “I think you’d better come, everyone would love to see you”  
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea” Enjolras was weary, “none of them have seen me in so long, what will I say”  
“We can think about it on the way” Grantaire said gathering various items from his room, and tossing Enjolras his clothes, “C’mon, we have to go”  
“Okay” Enjolras couldn’t help but smile thinking about seeing his friends, about Marius and Cosette being parents, and about Grantaire; everything about Grantaire made Enjolras smile.  
*  
Enjolras and Grantaire held hands the entire way to the hospital, they took the underground as it was the quickest route. As they entered the doors of the Nursing Centre of the facility their fingers remained intertwined. In the distance they could see their friends nervously spaced in the waiting room; the group of them were taking up the majority of the area.  
Courfeyrac saw them first who hit Combeferre’s shoulder to get his attention. Soon all eyes were on them.  
“Enjolras?” Combeferre called out.  
“Hi guys” Enjolras spoke nervously he refused to let his hand leave Grantaire’s  
“When did you get here? Where have you been?” Eponine asked, when she noticed the interlinked hands her eyebrows shot up and she glanced at Grantaire.  
“Uh, last night and I was just living over in-“ he was cut off by Courfeyrac.  
“Since last night?” he asked suggestively mimicking Eponine’s eyebrow raise.  
”Shut up, man” Grantaire joked and quickly changed the subject, “How’s Cosette doing?”  
“Well” Joly spoke up, walking towards Enjolras and embracing him in a hug “she’s doing really well”  
The others went to join the hug but were interrupted by Marius.  
“Guys” he said shyly, immediately everyone spun around and devoted their attention to him, this was rare for Marius. “Would you like to come see her?”  
“Her, as in Cosette?” Grantaire asked.  
“Well yes, but also my daughter” as Marius said these words the corners of his mouth turned up and he began to cry. Eponine let out a cry as well and embraced Jehan tightly.  
The group of eleven people followed Marius to the delivery room, all of them beaming and holding hands with one another. Marius gently opened the door and was welcomed by the soothing sounds of Cosette’s happy weeps. He joined her and the small bundle of pink blanket in her arms. Everyone flooded into the room tearful and joyous at the sight.  
“Oh Cosette, she’s just wonderful” Eponine cooed and rushed to her side “She looks just like you, Marius”  
Marius smiled graciously; Cosette took her eyes off her beautiful child to scan the room.  
“Enj?” she asked beaming, “I’m so glad you’re here”  
“I missed you guys so much” Enjolras smiled and received a reassuring squeeze of his hand from Grantaire.   
“R” Marius said softly and waved him closer to the child. Grantaire let go of Enjolras’ hand and stepped closer to Cosette in her hospital bed, “we’ve decided on a name.”  
“What is it?” Grantaire asked, a smile had seemed to be a permanent feature since this morning.   
“This is” Cosette started, “Elodie Fantine Pontmercy.”  
Grantaire began to cry suddenly, happy tears of gratitude towards Cosette and Marius but also sad tears as he thought of his sister. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and then he felt himself embraced in a hug. It was Enjolras first, but he was soon joined by Courfeyrac and Combeferre, then Eponine, next was Joly Bossuet and Musichetta, then Jehan and Bahorel, and finally Feuilly and Marius. And there they all stood embracing one another, tearful and happy.  
Grantaire could feel Enjolras’ breath against his neck. He thought of all that had happened in the past year, he thought of the pining and the failed attempts at painting, he thought of all the cigarettes and cups of coffee and weed that he’d consumed, he thought of Enjolras being next to him one minute and gone the next, he thought of Cosette’s growing tummy and Marius’ healing black eye, he thought of his old paintings being gone, he thought of his new painting of Enjolras and how it would look nice next to the canvas that portrayed the yellow mug with the blue handle, he thought of the fire escape, he thought of sunshine, he thought of his friends, he thought of a new addition to their little family, he thought of Enjolras; and for the first time in what seemed like forever Grantaire could not stop smiling.

**Author's Note:**

> well, that's all i guess. thanks for the love i hoped you enjoyed (i haven't written anything in a looooooong time so please don't judge too hard) but uh yeah thanks  
> madison xx


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